I nodded wetly. “He’s very good. You know, he’s never once made a mess.”
Barkley whined. “Anything for you, Sarah,” George nodded. “Damn hunters. You really lost everything? Even those fabulous Jimmy Choos?”
I had one pair of Jimmies. Secondhand. Comfortable, even. They looked great with absolutely everything.
I cried harder.
He plopped down beside me and patted my arm. “But you’re okay and that’s all that matters.Mi casa es su casa . For as long as you need.” He glanced up at Thierry. “Though why you’re not staying athis place, I have no idea.”
I glanced up with surprise at Thierry. Good old George. Always had a way of putting my thoughts into words. We were like soulmates. Only . . .not .
Thierry’s lips thinned and he avoided looking at me. “It is best this way.”
And that’s all he said.
It is best this way.
And how exactly was I supposed to interpret that? Or was I supposed to interpret it at all?
I had no bloody idea.
And frankly, at that very moment, I was too exhausted to care.
George showed me into his guest room. Very small, with a bare mattress on the floor and not much else.
All things considered, it looked comfortable enough for me to crash for the next thousand years or so.
Wake me up when life gets easy again.
In other words,never .
I gave him a quick hug. “Thanks, George. Thanks for letting me stay with you.”
“For you, gorgeous? Anything.” And then he was gone, leaving me and Thierry alone.
Thierry stood by the doorway. He seemed so calm and silent it was as if he was made of stone. I wrapped my arms around myself, hugging my new red blanket closer to me (they’d wanted it back, but I won in the end). I wanted to demand that he elaborate on what he’d just said. Why didn’t he want me to stay at his place? His townhome was more than large enough, from what I could tell from the very few times I’d been there. I wouldn’t be any trouble at all. Quiet as a little mouse. With tiny fangs.
Isn’t that what normal couples were supposed to do? When one of their apartments blows up, the other one takes her in?
Then again, normal couples’ apartments don’t tend to blow up.
And normal couples usually aren’t a pair of vampires with an age difference of 650-plus years.
Yeah, I guess that was a couple of strikes against us from the get-go.
I sighed, so tired I was practically swaying on my feet.
“I’ll make arrangements at a few local stores for you to visit tomorrow,” Thierry began, cutting through the silence of the room. “You will need new clothes. And to get back out in public the very next day after this incident . . . ” his throat worked as he swallowed. “It would show the hunters that they are no threat to you. As I said earlier, you will have bodyguards to ensure your safety.”
“Much as I’d love to rub those bastards’ noses in their failure to launch me off the face of the planet—” I pulled the blanket tighter around my shoulders “—until I get some insurance money I’m going to have to depend entirely on the kindness of strangers. I’m broke. Do you know any strangers who are my size?”
He shook his head. “I will take care of any new things you may need.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You’re going to buy me a new wardrobe?”
“Would that be all right?”
“I appreciate the thought, but you really don’t have to. Me and Amy are almost the same size. I could probably borrow from—”
“I want to,” he cut me off. “Let me do this without argument, Sarah.”
I didn’t know what to say. Thierry was generous. I never would have asked him to do this, but since he was offering . . . what could I say except, “Hell yeah”? “Thank you.”
“Is there anything else I can do for you, Sarah?”
Anything else? I shook my head, then looked up at him. “Actually, yes. Our date tomorrow. I still want it to happen, if that’s okay. I don’t want this to get in the way.”
“Are you certain?”
I nodded.
“As you wish.” Thierry leaned over to kiss my forehead. “Now, we must only wait until Nicolai leaves town. After he is gone, I know of a safe place you can stay until the rest of this nonsense blows over.”
“A safe place?”
“It is a nunnery inFrance .”
I almost laughed at that. It would have sounded hysterical, but still. Laughter. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
He didn’t look as if he was trying to be funny. “For now, you are of special interest to the hunters. Their curiosity will eventually wane and move to something new. Until then, we must be extra careful.”
“A nunnery?”
“If you would rather leave immediately, I can arrange that. I will deal with Nicolai. Your safety is the most important thing to me.”
There was silence for a moment. When I’d first met him I thought he had the most expressionless face of any man I’d ever met. But now I knew you just had to look a little closer. It wasn’t just my imagination that I saw concern slide behind his silver eyes. That worry etched a few fine lines into his forehead.
Or maybe I was just really, really tired.
And Ihad inhaled quite a bit of smoke.
Finally, I spoke. “I don’t want to go to any nunnery.”
He sighed. “Why not?”
“Because I’ll miss you.” I paused, then looked up at his painfully handsome face. “But if I go, will you visit me?”